Terkper optimistic of bright economic prospects

The Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper, has disclosed that Government has made significant progress in addressing the fiscal overruns that have bedeviled the economy in recent times.

Mr Terkper explained that there has been a gradual reduction in the country's wage bill as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP): from 8.9 percent in 2012 to 8.7 percent in 2013; to 8.3 percent in 2014 and further to 7.7 percent in 2015.

Similarly, he disclosed that there has been a removal of petroleum subsidies and utility tariffs, and corporate income tax from oil companies have turned positive.

The cumulative effect of these developments is that it will result in a build-up of reserves cover up to 4.2 months of goods and services. He was speaking to the state of the economy at an event in Accra.

These positive developments notwithstanding, he stressed that it was important for Government to address the short-term challenges in order to safeguard the bright prospects of the economy.

He was upbeat about the economy against the backdrop of the discovery of more oil and gas fields (TEN and Sankofa) and the coming on stream of the country's own gas processing plant.

Mr Terkper assured that Government was committed to fiscal consolidation as outlined in the 2015 budgets and reforms under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to ensure debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability.

The Finance Minister disclosed that a total amount of US$918 million would be given by the Executive Board of IMF to Ghana as Balance of Payments support over a three-year period. The total amount, he said, would be disbursed in eight equal tranches.

The first disbursement was made immediately after the IMF Executive Board's approval on the 3rd April, 2015. The remaining seven disbursements will be made after the observance of a performance criteria and completion of reviews under the programme.